Europe Vacation

Europe Vacation - Page Text Content

S: Our Mediterranean Cruise, August 2010

FC: EUROPE 2010 | CRUISING ALONG MEDITERRANEAN SEA

1: No amount of pictures, videos or words can describe the experience that one finds when traveling through Europe... Nevertheless, each city, each masterpiece, each morsel devoured is remembered and will stay in our hearts forever. So here is just a small piece of happiness we found while cruising along the Mediterranean Sea

2: Monte Carlo Monaco

3: This is our first stop. We loved walking the streets of Monte Carlo, visiting the Prince's palace, exploring the exotic gardens and caves. The look of Monaco is enough to make you want to stay awhile. The city is spread out over the rock and into the sea. Because of the limited space, some of the buildings are even constructed right over the water. The streets of the city practically ooze money. Expensive cars and limousines are everywhere. Monte Carlo is definitely a place where the "rich and famous" journey to see and to be seen.

8: Next stop: Pisa

10: Firenze is a capital city of Tuscany. It is a birthplace of the Italian Renaissance giving the world Michelangelo, Dante, DaVinci, Machiavelli and many more... | Florence

12: "Basilica of Santa Croce"

14: Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore "Duomo"

16: Walking the streets of this magnificent city...

17: ...and trying delicious Florentine food... | and here is the word of the day: "torta de farmaggio"

18: ROME, Here we come... | We all loved Florence, but it's time to move on...

19: Entering Vatican City - you enter another country. You feel the magnificence and the greatness around you. And you leave breathless with awe...

20: Apollo Belvedere, by Leochartes

21: Laocoon and his Sons

22: The courtyard

23: Michelangelo's "Pieta"

25: note to self: must come back to Vatican City

26: Colosseum

28: Forum Magnum

30: PANTHEON

31: TREVI FOUNTAIN

32: BEST GELATO IN ROME | MMM.... SO GOOD!

33: ROMA

35: POMPEI - THE LOST CITY

36: THE AMALFI COAST SORRENTO PENINSULA

37: VILLAGE OF POSITANO

38: This little restaurant overlooking Amalfi coast does not have a menu... you come in and mama cooks for you and you are treated as a very dear guest. We loved the food and the atmosphere. La Tagliata - what a treat!

40: good times

41: having fun

42: Palma De Mallorca Spain

45: Casa Mallorca

46: Barcelona 2010 | Barcelona

48: BARCELONA THROUGH THE EYES OF THE TOURIST

50: FONT DE MONTJUIC Through the dark pathways of Park de Montjuic, we walked to find the Singing Fountain... There were moments we didn't think we'd make it, but with a little help from locals we finally reached it... What a Sight!!!

52: The work of Antoni Gaudi Cornet (1852-1926) has transcended time, styles, and the period in which it was created. | His achievement grew from his great capacity for observation and his fervent interest in nature. He was a passionate observer, learning directly from what he saw in the sky and the clouds, in water, rocks, plants, animals, and mountains.

53: Park Guell

60: "Mighty pillars that appear to resemble the feet of some giant elephant are the first thing to meet the eye of the passerby from street level. The roof reminds him of a completely different animal: it is bordered by a jagged line similar to the backbone of a gigantic dinosaur. A facade extends between the two, including a number of small, elegantly curved balconies that seem to stick to the front of the house like birds' nests on the face of the cliff. The facade itself glitters in numerous colours, and small round plates that look like fish scales are let into it. There are no edges or corners here; even the walls are rounded in undulations and have in essence the feel of the smooth skin of a sea serpent about them." — Rainer Zervst.

67: La Pedrera

68: The expiatory church of La Sagrada Família is a work on a grand scale which was begun on 19 March 1882 from a project by the diocesan architect Francisco de Paula del Villar (1828-1901). At the end of 1883 Gaudí was commissioned to carry on the works, a task which he did not abandon until his death in 1926. Since then different architects have continued the work after his original idea The architectural style of Sagrada Familia has been called "warped Gothic". The rippling contours of the stone facade make it look as though Sagrada Familia is melting in the sun, while the towers are topped with brightly-colored mosaics which look like bowls of fruit. Gaudí believed that color is life, and, knowing that he would not live to see completion of his masterpiece, left colored drawings of his vision for future architects to follow.

73: To objections about the length of the construction, Gaudi replied: "My client isn't in a hurry" | Gaudi's burial place Sagrada Familia